Rotary transmission or brake



Sept. 3, 1940. D. s-:MoN' 3 3 ROTARY TRANSMISSION OR BRAKE Filed Jan.16; `19:59 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 241559// p emon Sept. 3, 1940. R.D. SEMON 2,213,616

ROTARY TRANSMISSION OR BRAKE Filed Jan. e, 1959 .3 Sheets-Shet 2 BYATTORNEYS.

Sept. 3, 1940.- R. D. SEMON i ROTARY TRANSMI SS ION OR BRAKE 3Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed' Jan. 16, 1939 INVENTOR.

,PL/556# 0. emon 31' a u ;a ATTORNEYS.

Patented Sept. 3, 1940 Q 'FAT S Claims.

This invention relates to a transmission, clutch brake, or the like, inwhich there is a driving member and a driven member, and has for itsobjects a simple, compact device of the above character adapted to` usea liquid medium, such as oil, for establishing a driving connectionbetween the driven and driving members, and which liquid is controlledin a manner to prevent destructive overheating thereof. Another objectis a device of the above character constructed to enable a substantiallycontinuous changing of the liquid in the device during certain periodsin the operation thereof. Other objects and advantages will appear inthe specification and drawings.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a sectional View through the body of my device, showingcertain parts in elevation, but without the outer casing.

Fig. 2 is a sectional View taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing one end of the body of my device inelevation.

The Construction and operation of the device is as follows, it beingunderstood that the driving and driven members, referred to, may bereversed as to their functions, the driving member becoming the drivenmember and the driven member becoming the driving member. p

Briefiy described, my device comprises a pair of axially aligned shaftsi, 2. Shaft i carries at one of its ends a fiange 3 that forms one headof a cylindrical crank housing (i, which shaft is centrally recessed atits said end for a bearing 5 at one end 6 of shaft '2, the latterbeingormed with a crank 'i within said housing adjacent said one end ofthe latter shaft and which shaft 2 rotatably extends outwardly throughhead 8 closing the opposite end of the crank housing. Head 8 carriesbearing 9, mounting said shaft 2, and a tubular sleeve m on head 8,extending outwardly therefrom, rotatably passes the shaft 2. A packinggland H at the outer end of sleeve i& functions to form an oil tightseal between the outer end of the sleeve and said shaft.

Formed integrally With the cylindrical sides of the crank housing arethreeequally spaced radially outwardly projecting cylinders !2, !3 and Is, thus forming three pairs of adjacent cylinders. The inner ends ofsaid cylinders open into the crank housing through the cylindrical sidewall thereof, and the outer ends of said cylinders open into an annular,uniform diameter chamber !5.

The walls of chamber i are preferably in two separable annular pieces,one wall !6 being (Ci. ISZ-GD iii,

formed integrally with the cylinders, and `said i erallysemi-cylindrica1 in cross-section on its side facing ring ll, while theadjacent side of ring H is similarly formed, whereby the two wallmembers s, i? When fitted together form the cylindrical walls of theannular chamber i. Wall l'l is provided with flanges sa and bolts !9removably secure said wall to the wall Hi, so that upon removing thebolts, the ring H can be removed.

Within each of the cylinders 62 to M is a piston za and two of thepistons are connected with crank i by a oonnecting rod ti, each rodpivotally connecting at one end with one piston in the usual manner,while the opposite ends of the rods pivotally connect at 22 With earsprojecting :from a block 23 rotatable on crank 1. A third ear 24 onblock 23, and of a length substantially equal to the length of the rods2 i, pivotally connects at its outer end with the third piston.

It will be seen from the oregoing, that upon holding shaft 2 stationaryand revolving the crank housing, cylinders and annular chamber, which,as a unit, will be termed the driving mem-` ber, in the direction of thearrow (Fig. 1) the pistons will successively reciprocate in thecylinders mounting the same, and assuming the annular chamber !5 isfilled with oil, during such reciprocation, the oil displaced by theoutwardly moving piston or pistons, will pass into the cylinder orcylinders in which an inward piston movement is being eected. Since thecross-sectional diameter of annular chamber !E is preferably slightlygreater than the cross-sectional diameter of the cylinders, there willbe substantially no resistance to th`e movement of the pistons in thecylinders, until some restriction to flow is created in the annularchamber, but in the event oi:: a restriction to said flow, the shaft 2Will tend tobe rotated, and if all flow in cylinder !5 is stopped, thenshafts i and 2 will rotate as a unit upon forceable rotation of eithershaft.

Means for providing a control of the flow of oil in cylinders 52 to iiiis in the form of valves 25, 26, Zi and 28. Valves 25, 26 are atopposite a recess in the wall IE and the opposite end is formed with ashaft 30 rotatably extending through ring !1 to the outside. An arm 3|on each shaft, outside of ring l'l, connects with a sleeve 32 that isreciprocable and rotatable on sleeve o by means of wires 33 that areSecured at their opposite ends to said sleeve and to the arms 3 l. saidwires are longitudinally slidable in bearings 34 that are Secured tohead 8 in any suitable manner and are sufiiciently rigid to rotate thevalves when sleeve 32 is moved to the left (Fig. 2)) The sleeve 32 isformed with an external, annular groove 35 forireceiving theconventional inwardly directed pins on forks 36 of a shift lever 31,which lever may be pivoted at 38 to the housing 39 that encloses thedevice thus far described.

The arms 3l are positioned to be moved for simultaneously opening andclosing the valve ports in the valves equally as the sleeve 32 is movedaxially on sleeve 8 by actuation of the lever 31.

The housing 39 carries oil theren to the level 40, which is below thelowermost side of the walls of chamber !5, so that upon rotation of thecham-` ber walls, there will be no unnecessary splashing of oil in thehousing. A screen 4! extends over and is spaced above the oil level,which screen functions to break up oil dropping thereon, as will laterbe described, thus freeing any vapors or air that may be trappedtherein, and housing 39 is `ported at its upper side at 42 130 theatmosphere.

Oil in the housing is supplied to the annular chamber i by means of agear pump 43 operated by rotation of shaft l through a connectionbetween gear 44 on said shaft l and gear 45 on pump drive shaft 46.

The oil passes from pump 43 through line 41 to an annular recess 48 inhearing 49, 'carried by housing 39, from which recess the oil passesthrough a port in shaft l to passageway 59 in shaft I from which the oilpasses through a line 5! to annular chamber !5, where it passes throughinlet port 52 into said chamber adjacent a side of valve 27 and betweenvalves 21, 28, In the same length of chamber !5 that is disposed betweenvalves 21, 28, but nearer valve 28, is an outlet port connected by apassageway 53 with the crank housing 4. In passageway 53 is a reliefvalve 54 adapted to pass oil from chamber [5 to the crank housing, atsay about lbs. pressure, and a conventional relief valve (Fig. 2) on thegear pump is adapted to function for maintaining deliveryof oil from thegear pump to the annular chamber at a pressure in excess of 50 lbs.pressure in said annular chamber.

From the crank housing 4, a port 55 opens into the housing 39, and arelief valve 56 in said port is adapted to discharge oil in said crankhousing at a very low pressure, say about one or several pounds.

In operation, it will be seen that upon rotation of the 'driving"member, which is directly connected with shaft i, the oil from the outerhousing 39, or main supply reservoir, will be pumped by gear pump 43into the length of annular chamber 55 between valves 27, 28 to keep theannular chamber, cylinders and the crank housing filled with oil againstany chance for air to enter the annular chamber !5. The portion ofannular chamber !5 disposed between valves 21, 28, and into which port52 opens, may be regarded as a second reservoir receivng oil underpressure from the supply in the main reservoir, or from housing 39. Theinner ends of the pistons are sealed by oil in the crank housing carriedby centrifugal force thereagainst in the event it is found desirable toeliminate the relief valve 56 and to merely port the crank housing at apoint spaced above the lowermost inner cylndrical side wall thereof,since the valve 54 functions principally to prevent possible drainage ofoil from the crank housing during long periocls of rest.

When the driving" member of which annular chamber !5 is a part, isrotating. relative to the crank carrying the pistons, the oil in saidchamber !5 is successively forced around the chamber by the action ofthe pistons, but as soon as the oil passes valve 28, assuming thedirection of movement is in the direction of the arrow, which is thedirection of rotation of the chamber !5, the oil passes back underpredetermined pressure, past valve 54 into the crank housing and thencethrough valve 56 to the main oil supply for cooling, should any heat bedeveloped therein, but in actual practice, the small movement of the oilon the reciprocation of each piston, is so slight that the heat appearsto be substantially dissipated by conduction through the walls of thechamber.

The importance of substantially isolating the area of chamber [5 betweenvalves 27, 23 from the remaining length of the chamber to form a secondreservoir intermediate the main source of oil supply and the remaininglength of chamber !5, is apparent, since when the valves are moved topartially closed position, the pressure developed in the length of theannular chamber that is in direct communication with the severalcylinders may be very high as related to the pressure in the lengthbetween valves 21, 28, thus permitting free pumping of oil into saidlatter length and insuring a proper injection of fresh oil into thechamber !5. It will be seen that the length of chamber [5 extending awayfrom the area therein between valves 21, 28, virtually functions as aConduit as well as a chamber, for conducting the oil from said area tothe outer ends of the cylinders.

This eective circulation of oil through the chamber 15 and into thecrank housing and out, is vital to the successful operation of thedevice, in that it eliminates all chance of air getting into chamber 15even though there is appreciable leakage of oil past pistons 29, and inordinary practice, irrespective of the care taken, some leakage will bepossible past said pistons.

More than three cylinders may be employed, as may manifestly be founddesirable in particular installations. v

In operation, assuming the shaft I is connected to the crank shaft of amotor, or to other source of power, and the shaft 2 is connected to adrive shaft for doing work, the operator merely moves the lever 31 in adirection for closing valves 25 to 28. As soon as the resistance topassage of oil past said valves becomes sufciently great, the shaft 2will revolve, and as the resistance increases the speed of shaft 2 willincrease until the shats l and 2 rotate at the same rate of speed. Whenvalves 25 to 28 are ully closed, it is obvious that a direct positivedrive will be established in which there is 'no movement of oil inpassagcway !5, except between valves 21, 28, and which oil, in saidlength, merely passes to the crank housing and out into the outerhousing.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a device of the character described, a shaft ormed with a crank, aplurality of radially extending pistons connected with said crank forreciprocation upon rotation of the shaft. radially arranged cylindersconnected at their outer ends with a member formed with an annularpassageway into whichthe outer ends of the cylinders open, a centralcrank housing enclosing said crank and into which the inner ends of saidcylinders open, said pistons being reciprocable in said cylinders, asource of liquid, means for supplying liquid under pressure from saidsource to said passageway and to the portions of the cylinders outwardlyof the pistons and for maintaining said passageway and said portionscompletely filled With said liquid under pressure at all times, valvemeans in said passageway arranged and adapted to variably obstruct thefree flow of liquid in said passageway past said valve means therebycausing variable resistance to the reciprocation of the pistons in saidcylinders and causing said shaft and said member to tend to revolvetogether upon relative rotational movement of the shaft and member aboutsaid axis.

2. In a Construction as defined in claim 1, means operative underpredetermned pressure of liquid in said annular passageway fordischarging liquid therein into said crank housing.

3. In a Construction as defined in claim 1, said valve means including apair of valves disposed in the length of the said annular passagewaybetween a pair of adjacent cylinders, an inlet from said source openinginto the said length that is between said pair of valves, and an outletfrom said length opening into said crank housing.

i. In a device of the character described, a shaft formed with a crank,a plurality of radially extending pistons connected With said crank Iorreciprocation upon rotation of said shaft, radially arranged cylindersconnected at their outer ends with a member formed With an annularpassageway into which the outer ends of the cylinder open, a centralcrank housing enclosing said crank and into which the inner ends of saidcylinders open, said pistons being reciprocab-le in said cylinders, asource of liquid, means for supplying liquid from said source to saidpassageway and to the portions of the cylinders outwardly of the pistonsand for maintaining said passageway and said portions completely filledwith said liquid, spaced valve means positioned in the length of saidpassageway between two adjacent pistons, arranged and adapted tovariably obstruct the free fiow of liquid in said passageway past saidvalve means thereby causing Variable resistance to the reciprocation ofthe pistons in said cylinders and causing said shaft and said member torevolve together upon relative rotational movement of the shaft andmember about said axis, a second passageway communicating at one endwith said annular passageway at a point in said length thereof, and aninlet from said source also opening into said length of the amularpassageway, the opposite end of said second passageway communicatingwith the interior of the crank housing, Whereby liquid from said annularpassageway will pass into said crank housing, and means for passingliquid from said crank housing back to said source.

5. In a Construction as dened in claim 4, a pressure relief valve insaid second passageway arranged and adapted to open only at apredetermined pressure of liquid in said annular passageway forpermitting passage of the liquid from said crank housing only upon apredetermined pressure of liquid in said crank housing.

'7. A rotary transmission device comprising a driving shaft and a drivenshaft arranged in axial alignment, a crank and a plurality of radiallydisposed pistons connected to one end of the driving shaft forreciprocation upon 'otation of said driving shaft, a crank housingSecured to one end of the driven shaft enclosing said crank and carryinga plurality of radial cylinders reciprocably mounting said pistons, anannular chamber dispcsed coaxially of the shaft axes and extendingacross the outer ends of said cylinders, the walls of said chamber beingcarried by said cylinders, said cylinders opening at their inner andouter ends into said crank housing and annular chamber respectively, asource of liquid supply, spaced valve means in said chamber disposed inthe length of said annular chamber between the outer ends of an adjacentpair of said cylinders, means providing for circulation of the liquidincluding a conduit for liquid under pressure opening into said annularchamber at a point between said spaced valve means, a conduit from saidannular chamber to said crank housing, a liquid pump arranged andadapted to pump liquid from said source through said first mentionedconduit and into said annular chamber, and an outlet from said crankhousing arranged to pass liquid from said housing back to said source.

8. In a device of the character described, a main supply reservoir forliquid, a second reservoir for liquid separate from said main supplyreservoir, a plurality of cylinders, pistons reciprocable in saidcylinders, means including a rotatably mounted shaft for reciprocatingsaid pistons in said cylinders upon revolving said shaft, a crankhousing enclosing said means separately from the liquid adapted to becontained in said main supply reservoir and said second reservoir andthe inner ends of said cylinders opening into said housing, meansmounting said cylinders and said crank housing for rotation relative tosaid shaft, pump means for supplying liquid under pressure from saidmain supply reservoir tosaid second reservoir, means for conducting theliquid under pressure from said second reservoir to the outer ends ofeach of said cylinders at points outwardly of the pistons therein,movable 'valve means for Variably controlling the flow of liquid fromsaid second reservoir to the outer ends of said cylinders, a passagewaycommunicating between said second reservoir and said crank housing and asecond passageway communicating between said crank housing and said mainsupply reservoir Whereby the crank housing will receive liquid from saidsecond reservoir and such liquid will return to said main supplyreservoir for repassage back to said second reservoir.

RUSSELL D. SEMON.

